Improved ventilating attachment for bedsteads



NrTED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

JOHN H. MARTIN, OF HARTFORD, NEW YORK.

IMPROVED VENTILATING ATTACHMENT FOR BEDSTEADS.`

Specification forming part of` Letters Patent No. 43,857, dated August 16, 1864.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. llIARTiN, of Hartford, in the county of Washington and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Ventilating Attachment for Bedsteads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of my invention applied to a bedstead, and shown in a horizont l position in black and in an elevated position in red; Fig. 2, a view of the same in an elevated position and adjusted for airing or ventilating or airing the bed-clothes 5 Fig. 3, a section of a portion of the same, taken in the line x x, Fig. l, Fig. 4, a section of a portion of the same, taken in vthe, line y y, Fig. l; Fig. 5, a horizontal section of a portion of the same, taken in the line z z, Fig. 2; Fig. 6, a section ot Fig. 5, taken in the line x a0.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a device ot' simple construction which may be applied to a bedstead in such a manner as to be entirely out of the way of the occupants of the bed and be capable of raising and openin g the bed-clothes at any time when desired for the purpose of airing or .Ventilating them, and at the same time be capable of holding the bedclothes in proper position on the bed when the latter is in use. rlhe invention is designed to supersede the laborious hand-work in making beds, and to aiford facilities for airing and ventilating the bed-clothes so that the same may always be in a cleanly and wholesome condition.

A represents one of the side rails of a bedstead, to one end of which, at its inner side, there is secured a vertical socket, B, in which a rod, O, is fitted and allowed to turn freely. (See more particularly Fig. 4.)` To this rod C a bar, D, is attached by a joint, a, and said bar may, when desired, be turned in an upright position and secured by a catch or fastening, b. I(Shown clearly in Fig. 4.) Any proper catch or fastening may be employed for this purpose.

To the side rail, A, near its opposite end and at its inner side, there is attached by a hinge, c, a block, E, in which a slide-rod, F, is fitted, the latter being in a horizontal position when the block E is turned upward so as to rest on the upper surface of the side rail, A, as shown in Fig. 2. On the rod F there is placed loosely a block, G, to which a bar, H, is attached, the latter'having a slide, I, iitted upon it, to which two legs, J J, are connected by joints d d, said legs having rollers e at their lower ends. These legs J J work or are fitted in dovetail grooves f f in two opposite sides of the block G, said grooves serving as guides for the legs, and the block G causing the legs to expand when the slide I is shoved down on the bar H, while the grooves f draw inward the legs toward the bar H, when the slide I is shoved upward on said bar. When the slide I is shoved down on the bar H and the legs J J expanded, they are kept in that position by a cam, K, on H, which, when turned a proper distance, has its edges iitting in transverse grooves, g, in the inner surfaces of the legs. (See Fig. 6.) The outer ends of the two bars D H are connected by a bar, L, and to the outer parts of the bars D H thereare connected by joints h a series of arms, M. (Shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.) These arms may be adjusted in contact close to each other and to their respective bars D H, and they may be expanded in fan form, as represented in the figures aforesaid. The arms of the two bars are connected by cords t, which are parallel with the bar L, and the two outer arms of each bar have cords j attached to them, which pass over rollers k in the outer ends of D H and through an opening, I, in the sides of the same. The arms M are folded together by drawing or pulling the cords j.

To about the center of the bar L there is attached a cord, m, and to the several cords i there are attached tapes a, having buttons on them for securing said cords to the bedclothes.

When the device is not in use as a ventilater, it is turned down in a horizontal position on the bed, the bed-clothes at one side of the bed being connected to the cords t' by means of the buttons on the tapes n, buttonholes being made in one edge of the bed clothes. The barsD H are entirely out of the way, being at' the extreme ends of the bed, and the latter consequently may be used without any inconvenience Whatever.

Whenever it is desired to air or ventilate the bed-clothes, the device is drawn up to a vertical position by pulling the cord lm, and retained in that position by the catch b. The rod F is then drawn out and the block G pulled outward on said rod, the rod C turning in the socket B and the slide I shoved down until the legs J reach the door, the cam K bein g turned to secure the legs to the bar H, and ifit be desired to adjust the bar H out farther from the bedstead it may be done by moving a key, a", in the outer end of rod F in line with said rod, to admit ot' the block G being Withdrawn from it.

The bed-clothes, it will bc understood, are raised at one end with the device, and when the latter is adjusted in an erect position, as desired, the arms M are spread apart and perfeet ventilation is allowed between the bedc.othes. When the latter are aired or ventilated sufficiently, the slide I is shoved upward the bed-clothes may be so adjusted as to be y aired and ventilated with but little trouble, and when the device is not in use as a ventilator it serves to keep the clothes in proper position on the bed, so that they cannot be thrown oil' by a restless occupant.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The two bars D H of the device applied to the side rail, A, of the bedstead, substan- Y rod C in the socket B, as shown, for the purj pose of admitting of thc lateral adjustment ot' the bar H and the consequent oblique adjustment of the device relatively with the bed stead, substantially as described.

JOI-1N H. MARTIN.

Witnesses:

WARREN H. BROWN, SIDNEY B. FAXoN. 

